Now with all that done, there was only a single thing to do. The [Vans], the [Vehicle] that would be responsible for getting them from this point to their target location. They were, funnily enough. [Square-shaped] objects, Alexa was still getting that outside of her [System].

The fact that these [Entities] weren’t alive, or not in the same sense that she was [Alive], she too, was an [Object], but unlike these, she had a [Consciousness Stream] so that put her above them. And as far as she was aware, these [Vans] weren’t like her. They didn’t have a [Core] like her, or if they had, they had hidden it well enough.

“[Rhapsody? Please get in the van.]” A voice spoke from her mask, “[We are getting late. Move it girl, it doesn’t matter if Eleanore and Billy vouch for you. If you delay our work we will still kick you out.]”

The voice wasn’t one she recognized, but she didn’t want to lose her spot within this [Human] organization, so with great effort she opened the [Door] and climbed into the spot that had been designated to her. It was at the front of the [Van], at the side of the [Driver].

“Oh, hello Rhapsody…I just got an update from command.” And surprisingly it had been [Mikey] the one there at the [Driver] spot. “...Sorry, it seems I was harsher than needed…I got told that you had…problems and needed extra allowances.”

What?

“Explain,” Alexa said as she sat in the spot, she noticed that [Mikey] was strapped into the [Seat] using some kind of [Cord] or [Band], so she did the same pulling that and docking it into the [Seat].

“Well, Eleanore ripped a new one to me using the comms. Something about you having a harsh time growing up and this being your first job.” [Mikey] said as he pushed a [Button] in the [Dashboard], making the [Van] rumble as it seemed to prepare for work. From the vibrations she was feeling from the [Van], it seemed that this [Vehicle] was capable of great power.

That or it had an [Engine] that wasted too much power in being obnoxiously loud, she had seen a few P-series subjects like that, both in [Organic] and [Mechanical] variations.

“This is indeed my first time at a [Work], but I wouldn’t say that I had a hard time growing up,” Alexa said as [Mikey] started manipulating the [Round] object in front of him with his hands while pushing some [Pedals], it seemed that he was able to manipulate both the speed and direction by a combination of pedal pushing and turning the wheel.

“And the hard time growing up?” [Mikey] said as they moved behind other [Vans], it seemed as if they were moving towards one of the bigger [Doors], behind it Alexa could see a long tunnel and some latches on the floor.

“Not particularly hard, so long as I cleared the [Tests] everything was okay-ish,” Alexa answered as [Mikey] drove the [Van] into one of those latches, Alexa felt as if something seemed to clamp into the [Van].

“Tests? What about playing around in the park, going to school? The normal kid stuff.” [Mikey] asked, he had left the [Wheel] alone and had moved one of the levers above the [Wheel] into a spot that said [N].

“I don’t know this [Park] or [School]. I was going to ask [Eleanore] about the second one, if I need to attend one I would like to get that over as soon as possible.” Alexa answered, “What can you tell me about those two [Locations]?”

[Mikey] turned his head towards her, raised his mask for a second as if he wanted to clear something in his eyes, and put the mask on quickly, his face was…quite average if Alexa was comparing with the others she had seen. No alterations of any type, no chitin to cover his weak spots, no fangs or extra sensory organs.

And it didn’t seem like he had other types of powers.

“Well, a park is a place where you go to spend time or mess around. As a kid you play around with other brats, as a teenager you also play around, but with other kids. Then you go for dates and to kiss your girlfriend under a tree or something like that…Then when you grow and have your own kids you go to get them to play around, and repeat.” [Mikey] said with a shrug, “Really, it doesn’t have too much science behind it.”

“So it’s a place to [Socialize] and encounter other [Humans] to spend time?” Alexa queried, the definition she got from [Internet] only said that it was a place with [Greenery], nothing about the social aspect of recursive properties as it was a place where you would go most of your life.

“I guess? The school is more of the same, you go as a kid to learn math, history, and geography. Then as a teenager, you go to learn about calculus and ethics…And finally, as an adult, you go to focus your studies toward whatever you want to work. Unless you awake a Core Power and can join the super-powered community.” [Mikey] seemed to laugh at the last part, “Not that you need core powers, as you can see I am quite good at this job even without core powers.”

“Isn’t it dangerous to work in this environment without the correct power set?” Alexa asked, as soon as the words left her mouth she felt the [Van] tremble under her feet. She almost jumped into a combat stance, but was restrained by the [Band] that had secured her to the [Seat].

“Don’t mind that, it’s the elevator working its magic. We have these channels that let us leave from different parts of the city.” [Mikey] waved away Alexa’s worries, and after doing so he continued, “As for the danger…Not really, my work is to move Box from spot A to spot B. At least on this job, in others, I just stand being menacing while waiting for you White Masks to come and save my ass. Or if a Super Villain wants me to dance in the middle of the street then I do that. The real danger is on the supervillains or you masked minions.”

“You also wear a mask.” Alexa pointed out, it was quite interesting the prospect that [Mikey] seemed to have.

“I mean, the important masks. The ones with fancy geolocating positions, maps, rebreathers, and all the fancy trinkets. This one only has a radio and that is because we almost rioted.” [Mikey] said poking at his own black mask. “ No one cares about a black mask minion, we are disposable, and as such, not worth the effort. They will neutralize us yes. But most of the time we just pretend to fall over at the briefest hit and then leave to evac when they aren’t paying attention. You on the other hand….”

At this point, the [Elevator] stopped moving and the latches on the [Van] let go of the [Vehicle], “You will be put down and they will try to secure you. Any Core Power user will be secured beyond doubt, you will be incarcerated, and….”

“[Terminated]” Alexa said with severity, perhaps this work was more dangerous than they implied, these [Humans] did move using other metrics than her.

“WHAT? NO!” But [Mikey] pushed one of the pedals under his feet making the [Vans] behind them scream with weird sounds and some words that she hadn’t heard before. “They won’t kill you. We aren’t savages!”

“[Van #27, is there a problem?]” The [Radio] spoke to them.

“This is Van #27, no problems. I was making sure the gear head fixed the brakes this time, last time they reported it as fixed and I smashed against a wall on the getaway.” [Mikey] said while taking a small oval-like object and pushing a button.

It seemed that it transmitted his voice since he got an acknowledgment and some grumbles from the [Speakers].

“No, they won’t kill you. They will arrest you, and try to get your name and face, they can’t force you to take your mask off of course. But if you take it, then it’s a free game. Some advice, don’t reveal your power or identity if you can.” [Mikey] said as he made the [Van] start moving again.

“Then what is the point of taking us [White Masks] if they won’t [Terminate] us nor force us into their side?” Alexa asked confused, it was weird. Was this more things that only [Humans] understood?

“Good, they did a work on you huh…”[Mikey] said with a sigh, “The point is that if they get your identity they can monitor you more easily. Making it harder to live in the district. Most of those whose identities are found move to another district. To be honest this one is among the better ones, we have better rules both above and underground. No human experimentation thanks to Vulcanus. That is a plus.”

“[Human Experimentation]?” That was a very interesting idea, if Alexa could get the databases from those…Wouldn’t her [Blueprint] log increase?

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

It was weird how her database was divided into two. What did she need to increase the count on the blue screen?

“Load to database current blueprint,” Alexa said inward, more as an attempt to try something new. Since Main Core wasn’t interested in the blue screen, it left all the job to her.

Notice:

New blueprint lodged.

Human - Female, young adult. Age 19

Human - Female, Child. Age 12

Human- Female, Child. Age 5

“WHAT?!?” Alexa screamed as she saw the results. “WHY?!?”

“[Notice: Increased amount of adrenaline within host. Reduce amount? Y/N]

“Don’t you dare act as if nothing, all I needed was to ask? Really? Did you know this Main Core?” Alexa prompted inwardly as she saw the number of [Blueprints] on her blue screen increase from two to three.

There was even a handy description on the logs, an image of her [Child Stage] [Teenager Stage] and [Young Woman] stage. Both with and without clothes.

“Everything okay Rhapsody?” [Mikey] said at the side, she could detect an undertone of fear in his voice. Also, he stank of adrenaline too.

“Not now [Mikey], just [Drive]. I have a problem on my side with some diagnosis I was running.” She said focusing once more inwardly.

“Oh…sure…you're the boss.” [Mikey] said as he continued driving. Alexa was no longer paying attention to the [Human], she was taking note of the direction and distance they were traveling, but beyond that? Nothing.

“[No evidence was found that such a prompt would work. Main Core had sent queries towards Entity Designation: Core several times during sleep cycles without answer.]” Main core answered.

So the blue screen was designated as [Core]?

Why?

No wait, was this thing her [Core Power] then? It had indeed shown when she formed that weird [Core] during the experiment…But then what type of [Core] was?

“How many blueprints do we have accessible that we can send towards this thing?” Alexa queried [Main Core], she needed more evidence to support that what she had done worked.

“[Not enough, besides the current form and previous only the Combat form is available. It is ill-advised to provide this to an entity outside the Saintsworths Congl-]” Main Core started saying.

But Alexa ignored that, she was no longer tied to her previous [Den], they had cut that tie first, “Submit the blueprint of my [CRAB] form.” So she willed the information to traverse towards the [Blue Screen].

Notice:

The blueprint has been analyzed by the System. Please submit blueprints that you have made or have analyzed, Blueprints acquired before the System's inception or that hadn't been analyzed by Host personally can't be used.

“[....]”

“....What the hell?” Alexa was flabbergasted.

“Rhapsody? We are 10 minutes away from the target location…Are you…Okay?” [Mikey] spoke at her side.

Alexa was tempted to crush the head of this [Human] who was distracting her, but she contained herself, this was probably more of the [Emotional] reaction from her [Human Side]. She needed to calm herself.

“Neutralize the generation of [Adrenaline] and all [Hormones] that increase or heighten [Emotional] responses,” Alexa said aloud, she felt that this was important.

“[Acknowledged.]” Main core of course only answered within her head.

But after that, she felt her mind clear and the world turned sharp, she was in control. She understood what needed to be done. “Everything is fine now [Mikey], please explain what will be my [Role],” Alexa asked, her voice was no longer tainted by her [Emotions]. No, she was calm and steady.

“...Okay…” [Mikey] didn’t seem to have an easy time, as he took several calming breaths and without looking at her, he started speaking. “First when we arrive you will join the other White Masks. They will divide among you the work to be done, usually a few of the less combat-prone White Masks will remain with us, while the combat-ready ones will move to neutralize the guards.”

“Define combat prone,” Alexa said pointing at the weird wording.

“The White Masks that are less….fighty. You know, they have core powers that are more miscellaneous than offensive. Like you wouldn’t send a Tinker to deal with something that needs firepower.” [Mikey] shrugged, “You for example are…”

“Combat prone.” Alexa said before he finished, “I see, how am I supposed to [Neutralize] the guards?”

“....I mean, just make sure they either run away or can’t cause us problems?” [Mikey] said in a tone that seemed to imply that he wasn’t quite sure of what he was saying.

“Can I interpret this as a non-lethal takedown? As in the objectives need to remain alive after we leave?” Alexa asked once more for confirmation, if the [Heroes] wouldn’t [Terminate] her, she assumed this was under the premise that she didn’t do the same to the [Civilians].

“Of course, we aren’t barbarians. Just scare them away, Golem is a good example of a Core Power that does that by existing. WolfMan even if an asshole could achieve the same.” [Mikey] answered as she had expected. But she wondered why she wasn’t on that list.

“Isn’t my power good at that? I have found that the [Human] who saw my application of power showed all the usual responses for [Fear].” Alexa said remembering the [MALE] she had [Devoured], and how he had reacted to her power. Granted, the response had been brief as he was missing half his lungs and some spots of his heart.

“...aren’t you a shapeshifter?” [Mikey] asked, “...your kind usually only change your arms or turn into an animal…I mean can you turn into a bear?”

“I have no [Blueprint] of a [Bear], but I assume that if I rip off one of their [Arms] they will run away?” Alexa said, it may be somewhat hard to rip apart an arm and also make sure they don’t bleed out. But surely it would be doable if she crushed inward the muscles while ripping the arm away?

“....please don’t rip any of the guards apart. They are just doing their job.” [Mikey] said as they arrived at the site, most of the other [Vans] parked around dark alleyways. “Okay we are here, let’s….let’s just go to Golem and ask him okay?”

“Sure,” Alexa answered as she left the [Van], the place was dark and seemed to hide their [Vehicles] quite well, at the distance she could see some [Buildings] isolated within a big area, and between them and the building she saw a [Barrier] made of a mesh of wires.

In the middle of it, there was a single [Square room] with a [Human] on it and a single pole that seemed to be around the correct height to prevent any of the [Vans] from getting inside.

“Bossman, please explain to Rhapsody why she can’t rip apart a guard’s arm to neutralize him.” [Mikey] said as he and the other minions walked near Golem and the other white mask minions.

“...You are capable of such a feat?” Golem said turning to look at Alexa.

“Yes, if I increase my muscle mass in my arms it is within the margin of strength I can achieve,” Alexa answered while nodding her head, she had noticed that the [Humans] seemed to use these kinds of body movements to emphasize their words.

“Please don’t. We want to scare them away, I will be doing that.” [Golem] said while pointing to the minions around them. “Your work was going to be making sure they all stayed away from trouble, but if you have this kind of strength….can you prove it?”

Could she prove it?

“[Main Core]?” Alexa queried inwardly, how could she prove her prowess without actually ripping someone apart?

“[Advice: Bend one of the metallic components used in the walls.]” Was the answer that [Main Core] gave her.

So Alexa pulled one of the metallic tubes from one of the [Ladders] and ripped them off the wall. “This can be done by most of those within the limits of a normal [Human Blueprint],” Alexa stated as she showed the part of the [Ladder]. “This next part, however.”

“Increasing muscle mass within the left and right arm. Keeping within the threshold of what the BodySuit can tolerate.” Alexa [Commanded] inwardly, and then the change started taking effect.

She felt her arms swell as the muscles started forming, part of the muscles in her torso also shifted to accommodate and give more stability. “This is beyond the limits of what a normal [Human] can do.” And after saying that and letting her arms shift completely she started bending the [Metal Pipes] one after the other, slowly but surely making a ball of [Metal].

The tubes had been empty, so the amount of [Metal] was pitiful, Alexa still wanted to see if she could keep it. It could be used to reinforce her body or fuel some last-minute parts if she wanted to increase the amount of body armor she had.

No other minion seemed to move or speak while she was doing all of this.

“The theorized amount of strength used in this example is around the same it would take to rip apart a [Human Arm],” Alexa said as she finished forming the sphere of metal and let it fall. Its weight made a small crack in the floor that made most of the white and black minions flinch. The only one that hadn’t reacted was [Golem].

“Have you done this before? How are you so sure that is the needed strength?” Asked [Golem] as he picked up her sphere of metal and with a grunt, he turned crushed further under his fist. Making an even smaller sphere.

“It is the theorized amount of strength that would be needed to rip apart one of my arms. I assume that this means that it would work on anyone else.” Alexa answered as she pointed to one of her arms, they had returned to normal after that demonstration. While useful to impress, she couldn’t stay long in those forms since she didn’t have the spare [Biomass], she was mostly moving her current body weight to fuel these transformations after all.

“I see, fine. Sylph, you are on guard duty. Rhapsody will move with me to secure, I will teach her how we neutralize targets without ripping arms away.” [Golem] said turning to the other minions. “You all will move when I give the signal, questions?”

No one seemed to want to answer to the huge rock [Golem], at least till [Mikey] raised his hand. “What if they have weapons? I know you are probably immune since rocks can’t bleed. But what about Rhapsody?”

“Rhapsody. You got the body armor, right? Any problem with gun wounds?” [Golem] asked to her.

Did she have a problem with [Guns]? Of course. But as far as she could see there weren’t any [Gun Emplacement] like the ones that had been around her [Den] or within the hallway they walked after the [Induction].

“Unless they have the same caliber as the ones I told you before I will be okay. I can heal, and unless they hit a bad spot nothing will come from it, I can just fix the holes.” Alexa answered, that seemed to calm the other [Minions].

Even if some seemed to look at her weirdly. Why?

Isn’t it normal that if you have a hole in your body from where you are leaking, you close it? That seemed like a normal reaction as far as Alexa was concerned.